Review: To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han

I’m sure you’ve already heard of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before especially since it came out on Netflix, but I just finished reading it in time to watch it! I can’t believe I slept on this so long. I so thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook on Scribd (not sponsored).

Summary

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once?

Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

Review

So I’m sure you’re already aware of the swoon worthy romance plot that is within To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. And, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. There’s something so precious about Lara Jean. Maybe because she reminds me a lot of myself? (Except I wish I had that fashion sense as a teenager). There’s a genuine honesty, a compassion, a loving heart, that I just found delightfully endearing. But what I really loved about this book was the sisterhood relationships.

Sure there’s romance, but what I want to talk about in this mini-review is how heart warming the sister relationship is. I think it’s not focused upon enough in the movie, but it’s what made me almost cry in the book. The relationship between Margot and Lara is so precious.

Not only is there insecurity but also feelings of responsibility and fear. We make mistakes, say cruel things, do mean things, to our sisters, but they’re the ones who are supposed to have our back. They stand with us through thick and thin. They’re our allies when we need them and our toughest critics as well (sometime when we don’t need them to be).

And this is where To All The Boys I Loved Before shined for me – especially at the end. Sure Kitty and Lara’s relationship is super cute, but that elder sibling, to middle child who has to take on the mantle of the older sister is where it shines.

2 thoughts on “Review: To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han”

I thought the sister relationship in the film was lovely, but I have seen a few reviews that have said this same thing! I haven’t ever read the book, although it is sitting waiting on me on my Kindle since I watched the film and felt I owed it to Jenny Han to read it too. I have a feeling it will change my mind as soon as I read it too. I normally never watch before I read, but I couldn’t resist when it came up on my Netflix home page and every single person on Twitter was already talking about it!! Loved this review.